Druid 30-40

Although the 30-40 bracket is much like the 20-30 bracket, at least you start to get some interesting new abilities like Ravage, Pounce, Feral Regen, Ferocious Bite, Track Humanoids, Dire Bear form, and Innervate.  Instead of finishing mobs with Rip you're probably more apt to finish them with Ferocious Bite.  And you're probably more apt to open up with Pounce (ignore Ravage all together) instead of Claw and take less damage over all during any particular fight.  Especially as Pounce is particularly useful in PVP.

The class still suffers from a lack of cat form AOE and it shows in dungeon runs.  No one is running around at level 35 or 40 watching damage meters, but if you do you can see those classes with good AOE capabilities far out and head of the single target classes -- Cat Druids being just one of them.  Boss fights are a different story however.  By this point Shred is a staple ability, but the directional limitation is as much of a problem today as it ever was.  Particular on movement fights, or where you have a lot of spell effects going off that might obscure the boss if there is just a small amount of movement.  Blizzard has said before that the analog for Shred was Back Stab, but no Rogue at this level is running around Back Stabbing and once a Dagger Rogue gets Mutilate they'll never use Back Stab again.  Whereas Cat Druids have to use Shred.  I see that Blizzard is planning on making Mangle more able to replace Shred so I'll take that to mean they have no intention of removing the direction requirement any time soon.  Too bad as strict directional attacks like Shred have high down sides.

The addition of Feral Regen is very nice, and you'll come to appreciate it as most healers on low level dungeon runs are healers in name only and prone to mana issues.  On those fights where you end up as an OT or THE tank, Feral Regen comes in quite handy.  Being able to pop a health potion in form now is gravy on top of that.

And the best thing about hitting level 40..... dual spec!

Cataclysm Druid class review (Part 1)

Finally! The Druid class preview is one of the two class previews I had been waiting on and it finally was released late Friday afternoon. Unfortunately for me I wasn't all that excited by it in total, though there were a couple things that I do see as favorable. MMO-Champion has the class preview changes up, along with pertinent quotes from Ghostcrawler all on one page, so I'll link to that.

The Druid class is getting three new class abilities between 80 and 85:

Thrash (Level 81): Thrash deals damage and causes all targets within 10 yards to bleed every 2 seconds for 6 seconds. The intent here is to give bears another button to hit while tanking. Talents will affect the bleed, such as causing Swipe to deal more damage to bleeding targets. 5-second cooldown. 25 Rage.

Stampeding Roar (Level 83): The druid roars, increasing the movement of all allies within 10 yards by 40% for 8 seconds. Stampeding Roar can be used in cat or bear form, but bears might have a talent to drop the cooldown. The goal of this ability is to give both bears and cats a little more situational group utility. 3-minute cooldown. No cost.

Wild Mushroom (Level 85): Grows a magical mushroom at the target location. After 4 seconds the mushroom becomes invisible. Enemies who cross the mushroom detonate it, causing it to deal area-of-effect damage, though its damage component will remain very effective against single targets. The druid can also choose to detonate the mushroom ahead of time. This is primarily a tool for the Balance druid, and there will be talents that play off of it. No cooldown. 40-yard range. Instant cast.

Thrash seems like it would be a good addition to Bear, though at 25 rage it's a relatively high cost ability. In multi-target fights, where you will have virtually unlimited rage generation, I imagine it'll be a staple for threat generation. But I'm having a hard time seeing it utilized in the typical boss fight. Although I will say we haven't seen how rage normalization will work exactly yet. Now we have to be very careful of rage starvation but that might not be the case in Cataclysm. If rage generation is that much easier Thrash might become something of a staple, even on typical single target boss fights.

Stampeding roar, on the other hand, is an ability that I'm not clearly understanding yet in terms of its real usefulness. I have never seen, or heard of anyone asking for an ability such as this and so it's kind of come to us out of left field some where. And the lameness of it is sort of annoying when you look at the abilities the other classes are getting. Feels very much like Blizzard simply didn't have many good ideas to give the Druid class, yet they needed three.

Wild Mushroom is, however, potentially a spell that I think I could like very much. Need being able to see the exact mechanic of how it works yet I could be wrong, but either this will be more of a PVP related spell or will act like the Druid equivalent of Seed of Corruption. Druids really don't need another AOE damage spell. Particularly one that will take attention away from the other two primary AOE spells (Hurricane and Starfall). But I can see situational use for it in PVE, but a lot of PVP uses. Magic land mines ftw! What I'd really like to know right now is how many of them you can have out at a time. is it just the one, or will we be able to seed an area with these? If the answer is we can have many up at a time, then this could be a totally awesome spell! PVP choke points could become a very amusing place indeed!

Rounding out the class preview Blizzard posted a few paragraphs for each of the specs:

Cataclysm class previews coming

One of the horrendous restrictions of working in Dilbertville are firewall restrictions prohibiting me from visiting my favorite game sites. Otherwise I would have seen the announcement today that Blizzard is going to start the Cataclysm class reviews tomorrow.

Schedule is as follows:
Shaman - April 7
Priest - April 7
Warlock - April 7

Warrior - April 8
Death Knight - April 8
Rogue - April 8

Hunter - April 9
Druid - April 9
Mage - April 9

Paladin - April 16*

Really looking forward to the Druid and Paladin reviews.

Druid 20-30

I had an opportunity to hop back on my baby Druid and do some leveling this past weekend, and finally hit that level 30 threshold. I wish I had the option of starting a new character off at level 58 like Death Knights because the under-60 experience is still simply abysmal. Being able to level in dungeons and battlegrounds helps tremendously but most of the pre-60 dungeons are in desperate need of overhaul and the XP earned in battlegrounds can be hit and miss. If you win a match you can earn a worthwhile amount of XP, but if you lose you can leave with virtually nothing for your time and trouble. As I write this I'm trying to formulate a list of dungeons I actually don't mind running and the only one I can come up with is Scarlet Monastery. The rest are long, convoluted messes that are often way more trouble than they're worth. And anyone that already has a high level character and has experienced the content available in Outlands and Northrend makes this lower level experience all the worse.

For much of the 20-30 bracket I ended up finishing up quests in the Barrens then moved north into Ashenvale. While Ashenvale does have two flight paths available (one on either side of the zone), but the zone is so large I really wish they’d add one somewhere in the middle somewhere. As far as the quests go, most of them were completely new for me and they took a little longer than they probably other would have as I had to actually read the quests, and at times had to consult wowhead to figure out where things were actually located. And of course with the large zones comes along the travel. I spent considerable time just running around the zone to complete everything.

It’s zones like Ashenvale that make me even more thankful for cat form. Being able to run just a little faster and being able to kill things just a little quicker takes some of the edge off. A typical fight would see me opening with Claw, then Rake, then applying a 2-CP Rip and either auto-attacking or using Claw again until it dies. On an odd occasion I’d need to change into bear form when I pulled multiple adds, and then it probably wasn’t exactly necessary as I could have simply killed things one at a time. But that highlights the biggest problem with the Druid class at this level, and becomes especially apparent on dungeon runs. Several other classes have AOE attacks by this point, but the Druid’s only AOE attack is Swipe. And that is only available in bear form. On a dungeon run, switching into bear form is often cause for comments by the tank or the healer and explaining that my only AOE attack is in bear form isn’t always enough to calm the storm. When speed is of the essence, and lets face it, when isn’t it; a viable AOE ability in cat form would be very nice.

In terms of PVP ability the class still lags behind many of the other classes at this level as well. It’s virtually impossible to beat a Hunter, Warlock, Shadow Priest, or Paladin at this level as the Druid simply has not counter to many of the abilities these classes have in this bracket. Especially the Hunter and Warlock, so I rarely even try to overcome them any more – Feral Charge (Cat) not withstanding. Having Pounce available at a lower level might help, but short of that a level 20 to 30 Druid has very little in the way of avoiding death to kiting. As the lower level brackets are full of Hunters you should steel yourself for the feeling of frustration. On the flip side the Druid continues to be the best flag carrier in WSG! Although without bark skin or feral regeneration, running flags is necessarily an endeavor in avoiding any opposition. At the higher levels where I have those other tools available I can withstand some abuse, but that threshold to withstand punishment is very thin in my current bracket.

The Gearscore arguement has already hit the SWTOR forum

I've been spending a little more time in the SWTOR forum these days, which I guess is why I noticed the recent argument about "gear score" that took place there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7myQErCJDTg

Just listen to this narrator, he makes me want to throw up. Sadly this is how far WoW has sunk. This is exactly what we don't need in TOR! It destroys the community, excludes certain players(whom they deem not worthy enough) from in game content, and makes you only a number. Worst addon and MMO community ever!

As you can guess the thread spawned many pages of comments for and against the sentiment. One of which was:

I don't see the big problem. When I played WoW back in BC it was the SAME THING people would inspect you and say w/e. Also in BC guilds wouldn't recruit you if you didn't have the hand of A'dal title or the other title. It's just people assumming since they don't gem/enchant your gear(for optimal dps/tanking/healing) they don't know how to play their class. Most of the time thats true(from all the pugs I was in).

To which I replied:

No, it isn't a big deal. Or, more accurately, it's only a big deal to the kind-hearted souls that don't want people to have self-esteem issues. The kind that don't want winners and losers in little league games because then someone will feel bad about themselves for losing. The kind that doesn't want dodge ball to be played at school, because some poor person will have to be singled out and beaned in the head with a ball.

I can understand where these people are coming from. But I know we live in a world where we're all judged every day in innumerable ways. I'm okay with that. I'm prepared for it and can deal with it either way. I guess, I'm just strong enough to not let what someone else thinks determine how I feel, or what I think.

The reality of the situation is that whether in a game, or not, you will be judged. Some how and in some way. You do not have an option to not be judged. The sooner people come to realize that, the better they'll be for it. Until that happens we'll continue to have these little conversations.

And I consider that the bottom line. Whether you want it or no, there is and always will be an undercurrent of competitiveness in a progression based game. And there will always be subjective judgments made about you whether its in a game, or in real life. You either deal with it or not, and those who complain about this sort of thing are the sort that want option #3 -- not to have to deal with it at all.

Deathwing is just misunderstood

No really!

Dear Adventurers of Azeroth,

It has come to my attention that certain organizations, who shall remain nameless (Wyrmrest Accord, for one) have (Argent Crusade, too) tried to paint me (the Horde and the Alliance, come to think of it)(you know, I think pretty much everyone) in the worst light possible.

They claim that I will lay waste to Azeroth with fire and FIERY PITS OF LAVA and storms and oh-so-much mayhem and destruction.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I am not a destroyer. I am a creator. You all just happen to be standing on my canvas. I'm sure you can see that, if you just move a few hundred leagues away from your cities and towns, things will work out for both of us.

You will all see. My design is grand, the scope enormous. The world will be a much better place, I am certain, if we just tweak things a little here and there, like a few hundred thousand dragon eggs or the beaches of Darkshore. I mean, you guys wanted some water in Thousand Needles. I'm giving it to you!

If you disagree with my plans, just put a little note in the box. I'll be sure to read each and every one of them. Just don't come pounding on my door and make a mess of things. Don't send your armies against me, don't run screaming to the Kirin Tor. We can all live peacefully, together, in this great new world that I designed.

I will even give you a pony.

Now I shall take my leave of you. You have given me much in these few, short hours, including troll meat, carcasses, and the chance to sing. Until we meet again, brave souls, until we meet again.

Sincerely,
The Artist Formerly Known As The Destroyer

Reassuring words from Bioware

It's no secret that I've been a bit worried about SWTOR. I've discussed at great length my impression of SWTOR as an RPG with coop play, and despite the prior admission from various developers that MMO elements would be added later I grew even more worried by the interviews that took place during GDC10 that indicated those elements as not even being finalized, let along finished in development. So it's with some satisfaction that I saw for the first time today, someone at the highest level of development, stating in unequivocal terms that missing MMO elements are not only being worked on, but are considered downright essential. Today's blog post gives me much hope that things will begin to look better over the Summer and Fall.

Freedom is a true part of the magic of MMOs, and artificial constraints and mechanics can undermine the fiction and the sense that you are living in the virtual world – and when you have a brand as rich and textured as Star Wars™, the last thing you want to do is undermine it. Even worse, the depth and visual splendor of Star Wars™: The Old Republic would be completely lost if players couldn’t jump off the rails and just live in the space from time to time.

Raid progression update

I took my Druid out of the other guild, as they were beginning to raid three days a week from 8:30pm EST to Midnight. Raiding six days a week, not including any 10-man adventuring I might want to delve into over the weekend, was just too much. So it’s back to one guild and one “progression” raid. Unfortunately for me that “progression” raid doesn’t have a lot of “progression” in it. We were back in there last night, still trying to kill Putricide. First wing, Rotface, Festergut, and Blood Princes are all on farm status now but Putricide, Dreamwalker, and the Blood Queen are being very difficult. As we now have a handful of people who need the Putricide kill for their Shadowmourne quest chain, we’ve been focusing on him more than the others. And despite the now 10% buff in Icecrown, we can only get down to around 50% before we end up wiping. As with so many fights before this, the root issue to our problem is personnel performance. Too many people are being killed by Malleable Goo during phase 2. And it doesn’t much matter whether it’s a healer or DPS that gets killed. If it’s a healer we slowly suffer, but if it’s a DPS we end up not being able to kill the oozes quickly enough and eventually get to a point where we have two up at the same time. Then it’s over.

As fights go, the Putricide fight isn’t all that difficult – really. Phase 1 is a general tank and spank from 100% down to 80%. But during one ooze alternatively spawns, requiring the DPS to kill it. There is a bit of management required when the boss nears 80% as you generally don’t want to have an ooze up, or spawn when the transition from phase 1 to phase 2 occurs. But once phase 2 does occur the fight remains largely the same, but with the additional element of Malleable Goo thrown in. Throughout phase 2 Putricide will randomly target ranged players and will toss Malleable Goo at them, requiring the player and anyone within 10-yards of that player to move away. If they do not and are struck, the goo will explode dealing substantial damage to that individual and everyone within 10-yards of them. It will also put a negative haste debuff on them for a period of seconds, causing casting time to increase by 200% and running speed to decrease by 50%. Fairly nasty debuff but the direct damage aspect of the explosion is the part that generally kills you and is what keeps causing our wipes. It’s the classic “people aren’t paying enough attention” to what’s going on around them during a fight thing. We have the DPS to finish the fight, but once we start to lose people to the goo or the oozes it simply cascades from there.

I’ve only seen phase 3 on my Druid when I was raiding with him, but phase 3 is all about Putricide. No more oozes, but the ranged still have to worry about the Malleable Goo, and the melee have to contend with slime puddles spawning around the boss. So phase 3 is a movement phase, where the boss is slowly kited around the room.

Perhaps we’ll kill him on Monday night, but if not it’s simply another wasted week of progression and another wasted week toward Shadowmourne. With the Cataclysm beta reportedly starting this month I’m definitely beginning to see opportunity to get the three boss kills I need and then collect the 50 shards I need, coming to an end.

Blizzard strokes the EPEN But Bioware unleashes the Sarlaac!

Now you really can stroke your EPEEN in WoW. But not to be outdone, Bioware announces today you can play the ultimate class in SWTOR! The Sarlaac! From the "it's April 1st" stack.

SWTOR classes will have sub-specialties

Either this is completely new information or I had missed it recently. But as I was perusing the SWTOR forum last night I came across information on the Sith Inquistor board that the class will have sub-specializations. There wasn’t enough information to infer whether actual sub-classes were being referred to or whether it was a matter of talent specialization. But the article did state that at some point in the characters progression you’d be able to specialize into an acrobatic, melee-centric fighter, or further branch into a ranged force power fighter. According to developer interviews the class is envisioned to be something of an amalgam of a “Darth Sidious” type and “Darth Maul” type so either specialization seemingly makes sense. However, I’m struggling with the “Darth Maul” aspect to the class.

“The Sith Inquisitor is the more agile rogue character: he doesn’t wear heavy armour, he’s much quicker, and when he gets to a certain level, he has to choose between two different paths. One path is more like Darth Maul, where you have the dual-bladed lightsaber and you’re all about acrobatic lightsaber moves. Or you can choose to do another path which is more of a ranged path, and more of a Emperor Palpatine path. You’re less about the lightsaber, more about the range and force powers.”

What are the real differences between the Sith Inquistor and the Sith Warrior then? As the Sith Warrior has been described as a “Darth Vader” type of fighter, are they saying the only essential differences between the two would be the athleticism aspect? Sith Inquistor is an amalgam of Rogue with some ranged attacks and Ranged DPS with some melee attacks. And Sith Warrior is an amalgam of Warrior and something else?

I do like the idea of each class being well rounded and I can only assume, though I don’t know this for a fact, that every class will have similar specializations and that the Jedi class will specialize in the same way the Sith Warrior does and the Jedi Counselor will specialize in the same way the Sith Inquistor does. Unknown to me is how the other classes will specialize. How would the Bounty Hunter and the Sith Agent specialize? But along that vein it does seem that the classes are being homogenized to some great degree and I'm really hoping that decision doesn't lead even greater credence to the impression the game will heavily favor an RPG versus an MMO.